Book Review: Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper’s destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can’t get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she’s charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper’s least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him–and discovers that David’s own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y’all beg for more.

My Rating:

Rebel Belle would make an excellent movie. It’s action-packed, adorable, and oh so much fun. It felt like watching a supernatural comedy film (is that even a genre?), and I really did not want to put it down.

Harper Price is your ideal Southern Belle. She’s involved in absolutely everything at school – from student council to cheerleading. She’s homecoming queen, participates in the Cotillion, has the hottest boyfriend, and believes “that the F-word should be saved for dire occasions.” Despite this, Harper proves that frills, lace, and pom poms aren’t mutually exclusive to strength and capability – a message that I wish more books would include. Friendship and family are extremely important to Harper, and that dedication shines through in her every action.

The romance was cute yet frustrating, mostly due to the presence of a love triangle. One one hand, you had the perfect gentleman, Ryan, who Harper had been dating for a couple of years; on the other, there was David Stark, her hipster arch-nemesis that she was assigned to protect. I really enjoyed the chemistry and banter between Harper and David, and loved the fact that gender roles were reversed in that David was the one who needed protection/rescuing… I just wish that the love triangle wasn’t dragged out for almost the entire book.

Overall, Rebel Belle was exactly what I needed: a cute, fun read that had me smiling throughout the entire thing.